The Road Not Taken
by JenovaWitness
Summary: A young boy follows a large newspaper stealing bird, and thus takes a road he never dreamed of, into a world he never imagined.


-=The Road Not Taken=-   
  
: If this story is looking a little … plain… its because word document uploading is not working. *groan* I'm going to try using html but I don't know if it will work. If it doesn't… hang in there and you'll get a Word document! Hope the HTML works!! *sighs and mumbles incoherently about fanfiction.net* Did I say something? Course not! Damn stupid not word-document uploading websites!   
  
: with wholefelt love to those wonderful Aussie Coke ads, from which I stole the whole bike ridingowl-snatching idea. Man, you guys rule! May we see much more useless advertising in future times. *sniff*   
  
: You know the drill- the castle's not mine, JK Rowling's characters are not mine in any way, shape orform, no infringement intended, Tian is fully mine however, and as with any new unknown character you may encounter is mine most likely. Doncha love these things?   
  
  
-::Chapter One: Following the Bird::-   
  
  
Tian pedalled fast, feeling his leg muscles tense as he rode up the steep hill dubbed Mount Impossible by the locals. For not the first time, he cursed agreeing to his mother's wishes and taking up the paper job which only paid fifty dollars a week. And that was if, and only if, he delivered over three hundred papers in his section of Edinburgh.   
  
Useless – stupid – waste – of – time, he thought, pedalling in time with these thoughts. He'd only completed three quarters of his delivery and it was late afternoon, almost evening. His helmet was swinging around uselessly, being way too loose. He sighed, pausing to throw a paper over the Rarend's fence, and then turning to do the same to the Thornary's. He knew this area quite well, with quite a few of his friends living around here. John Merald, Kirk Stevenson, Evan Banks – all were around this area.   
  
He, on the other hand, lived in a more densely populated area, closer to the beach and on the very edge of Edinburgh. Nearby lived Rick Marie, his best friend since primary, and Zoe Predence, another friend from school. At that very moment, they were all at the Rink. He cursed, wishing he could be there to join the competition against Robbie Dened and his thick-witted gang.   
  
The only people that matched Dened's gang in skill, wit and cunning was Tian's group. Made up of John, Kirk, Evan, Rick, Zoe, Jacod Ashton and Tian himself, they were the kind of daring teenagers that people often mistook for 'hooligans'. Tian snickered as he remembered the look on the principal's face last week when he'd found his car tyres flattened. Oldest trick in the book- but still funny.   
  
Only a couple – hundred more – to go, he thought, knowing he was exaggerating. But at least he could join the gang at the Rink soon. Another thing to be angry at his mother for. His name. He gritted his teeth as he zoomed down Mount Impossible, feeling the wind whip his light brown hair. For how many years had he copped crap about his name? Too many to count. It wasn't like he'd ever cared what the people had thought, but the repetition of it had been annoying. But now, since he become co-leader of the Pythons, the name teasing had stopped.   
  
People knew better than to tease him. They knew that if you even tried to say anything out of line to a Python, you'd find yourself down a toilet the next day from the rest of them. They were a team, a strange team no less, but a team, and they all worked together even if it wasn't for the best reasons. The teachers secretly found it amusing that fifteen year olds could work together so closely, and did nothing except dish out detentions when kids were found with bleeding noses or broken jaws. They weren't bullies. Just a team.   
  
Tian was brought out of his thoughts as he threw the third last paper, and prepared to throw the second last.   
  
  
At last, he thought, relieved.   
  
"Yes!" he cried as he took up the paper in his left hand, controlling the bike with his right. He gripped the paper hard and let it soar through the air. His aiming had always been good. Almost in slow motion, a low-flying bird zoomed over him and snatched the paper in its sharp beak.   
  
"No!" he exclaimed in horror. "Give that back, you stupid bird!" He needed that paper. It was supposed to go on the Freeman's lawn, and they were only the snottiest old couple in all of Edinburgh. Already numerous couples had complained that their papers were going missing, not just on Tian's paper route. And if the Freeman's paper disappeared… They'd get him sacked, for goodness' sake, if they were missing the paper even for one day. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, he thought. But no one fires me. I gotta get that paper back. The bird was larger than he thought, and flew quite fast, its dark brown wings flapping.   
  
"Damn you!" he shouted as he chased after it, his front wheel wobbling as he struggled to keep up with it. His backpack bounced on his back, and his helmet was threatening to topple off his head any minute now. The huge bird seemed oblivious to his curses and shouts as it flapped steadily ahead of him.   
  
Now it turned, towards the more hilly part of Edinburgh. Tian shook his head, almost causing his helmet to take its long overdue fall. He swallowed hard, and pedalled even faster until he was only just behind the bird. It was higher up than him, skimming the underside of the low hanging tree branches as if this was a game.   
  
"Can you stop now?" Tian yelled, his voice carried away with the wind blowing in his ear. The bird approached the Broken Tree Forests, which apparently contained unknown, hidden dangers that everyone steered clear of. It uncaringly flapped right into the depths of the forest, and Tian skidded to a stop uncertainly.   
  
He had every intention to stop there and turn back, he really did, but his curiosity got the better of him and he found himself speeding after the mysterious bird. It still had his damned paper, after all, and he wasn't about to let it get away with it. The path was uneven and bumpy- so many times he nearly fell right off his bike. The forest seemed so dark and unpleasant compared to the semi-fading sunlight back in the town, causing unwanted goosebumps to rise on his bare arms.   
  
The bird was quite far ahead now, and he frowned when he saw a ditch just ahead.   
  
"Oh no," he muttered. Then his face tightened, and he smiled grimly. "Dian, don't fail me now!" He crossed his fingers as the bike raced towards the ditch, and he desperately hoped he wouldn't fall. The bird would definitely get away then, and this was too much of an adventure for it to end now. He held his breath as he literally flew through the air, coming to a bumpy, jagged landing on the other side.   
  
A flash of pale blue caught his eye, but he was going way too fast to stop. He craned his head to see what it was, and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. A horse? He shook his head, turned around and shouted out as a low tree branch appeared in front of him.   
  
"SHIIIIIITT!!" Before he could do anything, pain hit him like a brick and he tumbled off his bike clumsily, earning himself a few bumps and scratches as he went. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing that he hadn't been so stupid to follow the bird, as he slid to a stop. A bird's call echoed around the area, and he opened one eye to see himself lying dangerously near the edge of a cliff.   
  
"Ahh!" he yelped, rolling away before looking to see where the bird's call had come from. The bird, that darn bird he'd followed for who knew how many kilometres, was flying across an ocean, a lake, whatever you wanted to call it. Something that he couldn't follow it across. And it was heading straight towards a dilapidated looking castle.   
  
"You thick, dumb, stupid bird!" he yelled indignantly after it, and then noticed a thin, worn down path leading around in the direction of the castle. Everything ached, but he ignored the stinging scratches. Knowing he'd already broken the record for stupid things done in a day, Tian angrily grabbed his bike and rode along the narrow path that most people would not dare to ride on a bike, especially with a cliff directly next to it.   
  
Another thing he prized in himself was his bike skills, knowing that he by far was better than most of the people on Edinburgh. Probably because he'd been riding since he was little, and had gradually learnt tricks of the trade, practicing until he was a master. Even Dened couldn't beat him, most of the time.   
  
He saw the bird's shape disappear into an open window, and followed after it, taking much longer because the path actually wound around the cliff, and then headed to the actual castle. The sky had darkened a lot, and for a brief moment he wondered how he would get home. The forest was scary enough during sunset, how would it be at night?   
  
The path ended and he found himself pushing the heavy bike up a steep hill that could rival Mount Impossible, and took another look at the crumbled castle. His mouth dropped open as it appeared to change, right before his very eyes, into a magnificent castle that was completely upkept and new-looking. He blinked, and rubbed his eyes.   
  
"Where am I?" he wondered aloud, pushing his bike up to a set of stone stairs, then casually tossing it to the side. Hitching his backpack up, he confidently strode up the stairs and grinned when he saw that someone had clumsily left the front door open. More like front gate. It was huge, towering over him, and a struggle to simply open the door. He squeezed through, and gasped when he heard the echoing sounds of people laughing, talking and yelling. The hallway was eerily empty, and was decorated in the style of an old Scottish castle, like castles that he'd only seen in fairy tales.   
  
Knights in armour lined a hallway leading straight ahead, but the sounds of people were coming from his left, so he took that corridor and found himself in front of another set of doors.   
  
"Here we go again," he mumbled, starting to pull the door open. It creaked loudly, and the majority of the talking ceased. He pulled with all of his might, feeling as though his arms would break, and blinked when he saw at least thirty thin pieces of wood pointed straight at him. Cold, angry and some confused faces were staring back at him, some female and some male, all pretty old compared to him, but the strangest thing about it was that they all wore strangely coloured robes.   
  
He suddenly remembered Dian once mentioning that she'd seen a bunch of black robed people near the abandoned church, but this – this was unbelievable. He just stared, dumbfounded, until someone clapped their hands loudly.   
  
His gaze shifted to a tall, elderly man with a flowing beard that reminded him of a wizard. He wrinkled his nose when he saw the pointed, blue hat that sat atop his head, wondering what sort of sick cult he'd stumbled across.   
  
"Severus, Minerva, Rubeus, everyone, calm down," his voice was as ancient as his appearance. Finally, Tian managed to speak.   
  
"A-are, y-you with the, the Mafia?" he stammered. "I h-heard there were some, around here…" Laughs echoed around the hall, and for the first time he noticed hundreds of students in black robes sitting at long tables. The tall man approached him, in a somewhat regal way. A man with an extremely long nose sneered at Tian.   
  
"Obliviate him now, throw him in the forest," he said coolly. "Let the monsters eat him. *Muggles*." He said the last word with particular spite. Tian blinked again, feeling somewhat outnumbered. The forest…   
  
"I've been there," he blurted out suddenly. The man glared at him.   
  
"Shut your mouth, or you'll be next month's potion ingredient, Muggle." Now what the heck was a Muggle?   
  
"Severus, calm yourself," said the tall man admonishingly. "Minerva, come with me, Severus, stay here and keep everyone calm. We'll… deal with this." Tian only nodded numbly as he was led from the hall, hearing hushed whispers explode as soon as he left. He didn't feel scared, but he was definitely feeling a little threatened by these strange robe-wearing people with their long pointy sticks and their hats.   
  
He was sat down in a small office, while the two adults watched him.   
  
"Are you from around here?" asked the woman finally, with a tired voice.   
  
"If I was, why should I tell you?" Tian snapped. The woman's mouth twitched, but she didn't say anything. He continued on. "Who are all you people, with your creepy church castle and your newspaper stealing birds? What is this place? Explain that!" The man watched him unblinking, with round gold spectacles perched on the edge of a crooked nose.   
  
"He's Muggle," he heard the woman hiss. "Memory spell, now!" Tian wasn't stupid. He knew what that meant, even if he didn't know what the heck it meant. He stood up abruptly, tumbling over the seat and stumbling towards the door.   
  
"I don't think so," he said firmly. Minerva, if that was her name, frowned.   
  
"Don't take that tone with us, young man," she said sternly. "Albus, do something!" The man stood, his hair reflecting the flickering flames of the fireplace in the room.   
  
"What is your name?" he pryed gently. Tian hesitated at the door, ready to sprint out it.   
  
"It's Tian. Tian Spikeld of the Pythons. So don't you think you can stab me to death with your sticks, my gang will get you, you know, so don't even think it, cause, cause…" He was babbling now, and he knew it. But he couldn't help it. It wasn't every day that you saw a wreck turn into a castle, and actually have people inside it.   
  
"I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry," the old man said gently. None of these words clicked, until…   
  
"Wizards!" cried Tian. "You're all witches and wizards!" Dumbledore smiled.   
  
"That's the general idea," he said wryly. "Where are you from?"   
  
"Edinburgh," Tian muttered. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.   
  
"That's the other side of the forests," he muttered to the woman. She nodded.   
  
"Son, we're just going to put you back where you came from," said Dumbledore calmly. "You won't remember a thing." He raised his own long stick, and Tian paled, running from the room and slamming the door shut. He didn't care where he went, as long as they didn't get to put that spell on him and possibly eat him. Who knew with these wacked out cult people? He raced around a corner, and smacked head-on with someone.   
  
He fell to the floor, groaning, and saw through blurry eyes a hand offered.   
  
"Are you alright?" asked a voice, and he saw a dash of red hair, then he saw another splotch of red hair.   
  
"No…" he moaned. "I'm seeing double." Two laughs echoed, and he was yanked to his feet. His sight returned and he saw two boys a little older than him with bright red hair and freckles, having a good old laugh at his expense. A door slammed open, and he panicked.   
  
"Please, you gotta help me," he stammered. "Get me away from them, they wanna take my memory away, I'll repay you, I swear…" He knew that they would help him from the assuring grins on their faces.   
  
"Chill," said one. "Just follow us." He followed silently as they led the way down yet another hallway, towards a proud statue of a warrior. Tian gasped as the statue winked at him. One of the twins just put a finger to his lips, while the other pulled the statue's arm down. A hidden doorway was revealed, and they gestured for him to follow them in.   
  
"This leads to the Gryffindor common room," explained one as they made their way along the narrow passage.   
  
"The grief door what?" hissed Tian, shifting his backpack nervously. This grief door didn't sound too pleasant. They could be leading him straight back to the Dumbledore guy, who was too calm and collected to be normal. And that Minerva lady, she was worse. So strict and uptight looking. The tunnel drew to an end, and the pushing of a small red button hidden on the wall sent them flying into a warmly lit room filled with couches and cushions. The twins tumbled expertly, as if they'd done this a hundred times, but Tian fell hard and smashed his chin, cursing.   
  
He sat up, and looked around at the comfy looking area.   
  
"I'm Fred, and this is George," introduced one of the twins. "You are…?"   
  
"Tian." Fred grinned.   
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Tian."   
  
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- Wow! That just… came to me. Like, seriously! I was just doing my Japanese study notes and –wham-! So I started typing, and look what happened. Anywho, I hope everyone who read it liked, please review and make me a very happy chappy! Let me know if I show keep going with this! It's   
all started with a coke ad, so I'm not that sure about it. Thanks! Did I mention how much I HATE text document stories?! 


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